Modesto review board praised for recommendation to repeal mask restriction; city manager orders community survey

The Community Police Review Board on Oct. 2025 heard repeated public praise for its recommendation to repeal a mask or face-covering restriction in Modesto’s public-assembly ordinance, and the board’s chair read an email from City Manager Joe Lopez saying the city will commission a professional community survey and consult First Amendment counsel before bringing options to the City Council.

Public commenters told the board the recommendation was well researched and urged the city to treat the board’s work seriously. “CPRB did the right thing,” said Harlan Diven, identifying himself as a local attorney and Modesto resident. “The lack of clarity and process here is very frustrating to the public.”

The board’s recommendation cited a proposed repeal of “subsection a13 of ordinance 4‑23‑02,” language the board’s ad hoc committee reviewed. Several speakers at the meeting argued that the mask restriction raises First Amendment concerns and that the board’s analysis was grounded in constitutional and penal-code research.…